Chapter 1
Another New Repoid
“June 10, 20XX
Journal Entry No. 329
Today Sigma brought in another Maverick. This one, it
seems, is quite strong. I noticed all the damage
marks on Sigma, though he tried to conceal them from
me. He is too proud…he wouldn’t want to admit that he
had almost been beaten by a Maverick, although even I
find that hard to believe. He has requested that I
take a look at the Maverick, and run a few tests on
him as well. Sigma thinks that he is a great danger
as he is, so I will try to locate the root of the
Maverick Virus in his systems and see if he can be
’cured’.
Dr. Cain”
Dr. Cain logged off his PC. Pushing back his chair,
he stood up and walked to the door. A few Mets
hurried by, and he stopped the last one.
“Met, which way is the Maverick we’re restoring?” Dr.
Cain asked. The Met blinked quickly, then made some
short, high-pitched robot noises and threw its weight
to the right. Having learned to understand the little
bots with red crosses on their heads, Dr. Cain nodded
his thanks and walked down the brightly lit metal
corridor. The door guarding the Maverick responded
when he punched in the key-code by releasing the
air-locks and slowly retracting into the frame.
Well, let’s see what we have here.
As soon as he stepped into the room, the sight before
him rendered him completely speechless. The Maverick
was tall and red, with white shoulders and a long mane
of blonde hair. His helmet, sharp and angular as a
bursting fire, masked wild green eyes. In his hands
was a long piece of the ceiling’s cooling pipe.
Dozens of little cross-eyed Mets were bashed against
the walls, leaning on computers, and strewn about the
room hiding under their hard hats. Broken machinery
lay everywhere, and spark-spewing wires buzzed and
popped.
“What?! What happened here?! Why hasn’t security
been notified?!” Dr. Cain gasped.
The red Maverick turned towards him, eyeing him
suspiciously. Dr. Cain, spotting a nearby Met in
working order, reached for a small repair kit. He
hoped he could get it online before the Maverick could
attack him.
“…..a human….” the Maverick said under his breath.
“Who are you?! And why am I here?! What is this
place?!!” he yelled.
Dr. Cain, fervently working on the Met, didn’t notice
the reploid had spoken to him. The reploid took a
step closer and asked again.
“…What is this place?! Tell me!!” he shouted.
Dr. Cain, having got the Met back online, quickly
shoved it out the door to fetch Sigma. He stood up
and prepared to run out the door, but stopped instead.
There was something different about this reploid;
whether it was his somehow familiar voice or the
perfect blue jewel on his forehead, he could not have
been a Maverick. No, he had been fully repaired, and
the capsule would not have awakened him unless he was
safe to be released. Then, why was there such carnage
around him?
Is it possible that he is a violent reploid? Or…maybe
he was only trying to defend himself…He is definitely
as normal as he will ever be. I must try to find out
his name…he has a Z on his shoulder…
The reploid was staring at Dr. Cain, obviously waiting
on an answer. Dr. Cain cleared his throat and tried
to calm his nerves. The reploid was peaceful, for the
moment.
“This is Maverick Hunter HQ. Sigma, the leader of the
Maverick Hunters, brought you in, and we restored you
to your normal self,” Dr. Cain said.
The reploid glared at him. Dr. Cain took it as a sign
to introduce himself.
“I am Dr. Cain. I am the overseer of the reploid
race, and have created quite a few myself. Tell me,
red reploid, where did you come from?” Suddenly filled
with questions, Dr. Cain spoke again, this time more
quickly.
“Who is your creator? I have not seen one of your
kind in quite some time… What is your name? When were
you created?”
The red reploid struck a puzzled look and shook his
head.
“I’m not telling you anything until you tell me what’s
going on!”
“Well, then… You don’t have to worry about any
opposition. I’d like to study you for a while. I may
even let you in on the Maverick Hunters,” he said,
surveying the robot’s evident experience at combat,
“Why, I haven’t seen a reploid not on file since…Mega
Man X…”
The reploid’s eyes snapped open. Clearly, Dr. Cain
had his full attention.
“You know each other?” Dr. Cain asked.
“No…not exactly…but it seems…arrgh! I can’t remember
anything!!” the robot cried, “I don’t even know my
name!! It’s…Z…Z-something…”
Dr. Cain rubbed his chin. “Hmm, I can’t offer any
help to you there,”
“Dr. Cain!! What happened!!” Sigma burst into the
room…
“Dr. Cain!! Are you alright?!” …followed by X.
“Scram, pipsqueak! Who do you think you are?! You
can’t handle this Maverick!!” Sigma growled.
“I’m not worried about a Maverick! I’m worried about
Dr. Cain!” X shouted.
Dr. Cain turned to them both and said, “It’s alright,
nothing’s wrong. He’s not a Maverick anymore. In
fact, he seems to be quite alright. Why don’t you two
introduce yourselves?”
Sigma strode up to the red robot and looked down his
nose at him.
“I’m in command of all the Hunters, so you’ll have to
take my orders from now on!! Humph! Dr. Cain, he’s
hardly Hunter material. Look at him; he doesn’t even
have a weapon!” Sigma snarled.
The robot was getting very mad. A large blue charge
had accumulated at his arm, which he quickly threw
into Sigma’s face. Screaming, Sigma started to tear
at the robot with his saber, but a quick word from Dr.
Cain sent him stomping off to the repair center--for
the second time that day.
“Sorry about Sigma. He…is a very proud reploid. Just
be careful around him, and don’t get into a fight with
him,” Dr. Cain said. For Sigma’s sake, he thought,
remembering how badly damaged he was when he walked in
from the previous mission.
X walked up and slowly looked him over, as if in
recognition.
“Have we…met before? I have a strange feeling of déjà
vu…” X said. He blinked once, then smiled. “I am
Mega Man X. I was created by Dr. Thomas Light,
but…he’s no longer here…” he said the last part in
sadness. “Who are you?” he finally said.
The robot answered confidently. It was as if all his
memories had been jogged by X’s words. He remembered
it all now, or at least what he knew for sure.
“I am…Zero. I’ve never met my creator…”
“Well, come with me. I’ll show you around the base,
especially if you’re to become a Maverick Hunter. Is
that okay, Dr. Cain?” X asked.
Dr. Cain nodded, then watched the two walk off; X,
followed by Zero.
“Zero…hmm, I must look into this. I wonder if he is
mentioned in Light’s notes…”
Chapter 2
The Beginning of Friendship
“June 23, 21xx
Journal entry No. 332
It has been quite a few days since the discovery of
Zero, and all seems to be going well. He seems to be
of no danger to the humans, but his capabilities are
very high. I cannot measure his real strength or
speed, nor can I X’s. Concerning X, he and Zero seem
to be getting along quite well. I think they may even
become friends. What an interesting concept this is!
The thought of reploids being able to make friends
with one another!
I searched Light’s notes again and again, but found
nothing concerning Zero. Not one single amount of
information was there. However, there was a piece of
information in there about a certain dangerous person
by the name of Dr. Albert Wily. Hmmm… this is quite
an interesting find in itself. Maybe I’ll organize
another dig to recover his lab…
Dr. Cain”
Dr. Cain logged off the computer. It was time to do
some observations. He picked up the usual, his
electronic clipboard, and hurried out the door. He
found his subjects in the battle training room. It
was a large room with thickly padded walls for
protection, though not for the reploids; it was there
to keep the wall half-way intact from them smashing
into it, stray blasts, and so forth. Now they had
another problem: their first proficient saber user.
Zero preferred the lightweight, glowing saber to
normal long-range attacks. At first Dr. Cain thought
he was just being stubborn when he refused to use the
buster cannon on his arm, but he quickly realized why
Zero was reluctant to use it. Dr. Cain had to call in
the repair bots to fix a massive hole in the wall when
Zero just slightly missed his target . Dr. Cain had
then handed him one of Sigma’s weapons for trial with
no objections. Surprisingly, he did quite well. Zero
had quickly moved his way up the ranks until he was
winning even the S rank challenges in under the time
limit. Now, he was sparring with another reploid in
the training room. His sparring partner was none
other than Mega Man X. Dr. Cain watched intently,
though he was somewhat nervous that X might get hurt,
him being a smaller, more peaceful robot--something
Zero definitely was not.
Zero ducked left and avoided X’s blast. He leaped
onto the wall and dashed quickly to the other side,
landing a blow from his saber on X. X recovered
quickly and charged his cannon. He leaped back as
Zero took another swing at him and continued to
charge. When finally finished, X unleashed a huge
blast at Zero, which struck with amazing force. Zero
flew back and slammed against the wall. He shook his
head, blinked, and jumped up with a serious look on
his face. He charged at X with his beam saber. X,
having no time to react, threw up his buster to defend
himself, but Zero counter-attacked his block. X fell
to the ground. He looked up at Zero, who was standing
about three feet away waiting for X to stand up, and
did a sliding kick, knocking Zero off his feet. X
began firing little plasma blasts at him, and Zero
dodged and deflected each one. He dashed at X again
with his saber ready to deliver the finishing blow,
but X had other plans. X leaped onto the wall and
dashed to the other side, firing a charged blast
straight at Zero. Zero then decided it was time to
use his buster as well. He fired at X, and each
blast hit their targets at the same time. Both X and
Zero flew back against the walls as the loudspeaker
announced the end of the match. X stood up and looked
at the score board, as did Zero.
“And the results are…a tie,” said the voice on the
loudspeaker.
X and Zero looked at each other, blinked a few times,
and then started laughing. That wasn’t the first time
they had tied, in points anyway. They both exited the
training room and walked into the main courtyard.
“Wow, Zero, you’re strong,” X said, “I never expected
that final shot!”
Zero grinned. “Hey, you’re not so bad. I usually
cream my victims.”
They both laughed, energized from their friendly
match. Dr. Cain, pleased with what he had just
witnessed, began inputting data in his clipboard.
“Yes, I believe those two are going to become good
friends some day,” he said to himself in approval,
“they may even become partners in the 17th Unit. I do
believe that is the best place for them.”
Dr. Cain casually strolled into the main courtyard
where X and Zero were talking. He cleared his throat
as an announcement that he was there. X and Zero
turned to him.
“Oh, hi Dr. Cain. Did you see our match? We tied
again!” X said in high spirits.
Zero just nodded his head and looked intently at Dr.
Cain. He wondered what Dr. Cain was going to say.
“Yes, I did see your match. Quite impressive, both of
you, but I’ve come to make you an offer,” Dr. Cain
watched for signs of interest, and noticed both of
them looking straight at him.
“Zero, how would you like to be made an official part
of the Maverick Hunters?”
X’s eyes lit up. “Dr. Cain, would you really let him
in? That would be great! Zero, we could fight
together! What do you think?”
Zero, still uncertain of the responsibility he would
have to take, gave an insecure shrug.
“I don’t know, X… I don’t know if I’m cut out to hunt
down Mavericks…”
He noticed X’s disappointed look and sighed. He’d
have to join now. He had some little feeling inside
him that he couldn’t ignore. X was a very kind
reploid who could easily be hurt by so-called friends
that would betray him. He almost felt he had to
protect X…
“Well, alright, I’m in!” Zero said.
X smiled. “You won’t regret it, Zero!” he said.
“Great! I’ll assign you both to the 17th Unit. Is
that okay with you two?” Dr. Cain asked confidently.
“Dr. Cain…the 17th Unit? Then that means…” X said.
“Yes, you two are very skilled. I know you both will
be a big help to the 17th Unit.” Dr. Cain then walked
off, back to his office. He was pleased with their
reactions, and he knew they would make great partners
in the battle against the Mavericks.
Chapter 3
Sigma’s Betrayal
X quickly dashed over to the long line of standing
reploids. It was his first day of training to be a
Maverick Hunter and already he was a little late. He
jumped in line beside Zero and whispered, “How late
am I? Do you think Sigma will be mad?”
Zero glanced at X. “You’re only behind a few minutes.
No need to worry,” he said.
Sigma, who stood in front of them all giving the “New
Hunters” speech, paused a moment to give Zero and X
the evil eye. X gulped nervously.
“I thought you said he wouldn’t be mad…” he said
quietly.
“Well, I didn’t expect him to be…” Zero said,
perplexed by Sigma’s pickiness.
“That’s enough chatter! How do you expect to become
great Hunters if you don’t listen to your higher
ranking officer?!” Sigma bellowed.
A few reploids snickered that the new guys were
getting yelled at, but were quickly silenced by
Sigma’s impatient scolding. Sigma crossed his arms
and looked over every one of the reploids in revolt.
Secretly, he loathed the job of training new Hunters.
He even pretended to be seriously injured one time so
he could get out of it. That generation of Hunters
had already driven four instructors insane by now, all
of which had been sent to the junkyard. This new
generation, however, seemed to have some potential,
though he still was disgusted with their appearances.
After summing up the things he thought they were
capable of doing, Sigma raised his fist and pointed to
a stag with flaming antlers.
“You there! State your name!” Sigma growled.
“I-I’m,” he stuttered, then gathered his wits about
him, “I’m Flame Stag! I use the powers of fire,” he
paused. “…plus I’m fast,” he added weakly.
Sigma smiled evilly. “Prove it,” he said, “Climb that
rock wall. You have 10 seconds to reach that flag on
the top,”
Flame Stag blinked, then raced to the other side of
the wall where there was another rock wall about 10
feet away. He quickly dashed onto the first wall and
leaped to the second, back to the first, then to the
second again and again with lightning fast speed,
until he reached the red flag. Sigma called time just
after he grabbed the flag and held it in the air. The
other Hunters-In-Training clapped and cheered for
Flame Stag, and even Sigma nodded his slight approval.
“Alright,” Sigma said as Flame Stag handed him the
flag, “now we start the sparring! I’ll pair you up so
we won’t have any unfair fights. Control your weapons
so they don’t run rampant and destroy everything in
sight.”
Sigma pointed to Boomer Kuwanger, who stepped back in
surprise.
“I want you to fight Flame Stag,”
Both of them got into battle poses.
“Gravity Beetle, fight little blue boy over there,”
Gravity Beetle raised an eyebrow, and X looked
offended.
“But, uh, sir? What if I crush him? He’s awfully
little for me to fight…” Gravity Beetle said in a
deep, muscle-head voice.
“Fight him anyway. Don’t hold back, even if you crush
him. We do have a repair unit, remember?” Sigma
smirked. The group of little yellow Mets blinked and
looked at each other as Sigma pointed to them. One
had a janitor mop in his hand, which was quickly
slapped away and replaced by a medical kit. The Met’s
face turned red at its mistake.
“You there, red guy!” Sigma called. “You will fight
the sponge guy over there.”
Zero looked at the sponge guy and gasped. He was
dancing around swinging a vine. He didn’t even look
familiar; Zero wondered if he was even a real
Maverick Hunter trainee. However, battle was battle.
Zero turned to the sponge guy and got into battle
stance. After all the trainees were paired up, the
fighting commenced. Boomerangs, gravity orbs, flame
circles, and stray buster shots flew in all
directions. Flame Stag eventually won his match due
to Boomer Kuwanger getting hit with a gravity orb that
knocked him into a soft spot of clay on the rock wall;
this got his horns stuck and he was unable to free
himself. Gravity Beetle was defeated quite easily
after he ran to see if his brother was okay. It
wasn’t X that defeated him, though; it was an excited
Flame Stag, eager to start the next match. As for
Zero, he won with the greatest ease of any of them.
Wire Sponge fled at the speed of light the moment Zero
unsheathed his glowing Z-saber. After that, Zero had
sat back and watched the others mess up, laughing
occasionally.
Sigma was just about at the end of his rope. He was
grinding his teeth so hard there were chips flying off
them. His face was turning a bright shade of red, and
steam was starting to come out his “ears”.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” Sigma screamed. All the reploids
stared at him wide-eyed. Flame Stag ran for cover.
Sigma, seething with anger, threatened to disembody
each and every one of them if they didn’t do something
right very soon. He suddenly regained his composure
and an evil grin crossed his lips.
“Blue boy, come here!” Sigma called with a smirk.
X, angered by Sigma’s deliberate decision to not call
him by his name, slowly stepped forward. Sigma threw
off his cape.
“Fight me,” he said plainly.
X jumped back in surprise.
There’s no way I can win against Sigma…he’s too
powerful! What can I do?
Sigma tapped his foot and raised his fists in a
martial arts stance.
“Well, get over here and fight me!!” he roared.
X blinked and took another step forward. He didn’t
think it was a good idea, but he didn’t have a choice.
Sigma grinned. “Heh heh…I’ll show you all how to
really fight a Maverick!”
X took a deep breath and readied himself. It was a
matter of seconds before Sigma was right in front of
him. X leaped out of the way of his first attack,
only to be thrown another strong punch. Sigma’s fists
slammed against X in such a way that he was instantly
knocked to the ground. X pushed himself up and
charged his buster cannon. He unleashed a powerful
wave of energy, but Sigma dodged it easily. The rest
of the reploids gasped in shock as Sigma picked up X
and threw him back to the ground. X cried out in pain
from the shockwaves that were sent through his body.
He didn’t know why Sigma was being so violent; his
energy was quickly draining, yet Sigma wasn’t letting
up. X got up slowly, his chest heaving, and tried to
land a punch on Sigma. It hit, but Sigma recoiled and
gave X a swift kick in the stomach.
Gravity Beetle spoke up, “Um, sir, don’t you think you
should stop now? I mean, he looks plenty beaten to
me…”
“Stay out of this match, Beetle!” Sigma spat.
All the trainees shrunk back with fear in their eyes.
Zero, though, had only worry on his face. Sigma was
too strong for X right now. He shouldn’t have even
picked X yet--he wasn’t even at half the power level
he could reach. Sigma and X continued to fight, but
when Sigma grabbed X in a headlock, Zero had enough.
“Sigma, stop!” Zero shouted angrily. Sigma glanced up
at Zero with a smirk on his face.
“Heh heh, what’s wrong, Zero? Don’t you like my
demonstration?” Sigma laughed.
“Sigma, you’re going too far! Why don’t you fight me,
or are you scared?!” Zero snarled.
“Heh heh, in your dreams, Maverick!!” Sigma sneered.
This set Zero into a blind rage--even Sigma had to
rethink his decision to say those words.
“That’s it!!” Zero yelled. He charged at Sigma and
tore a punch into the side of his head. Sigma
shrieked in pain, dropping X. Flame Stag, Gravity
Beetle, and Boomer Kuwanger, all three with bulging
eyes, ran to get Dr. Cain and the reploid guards.
When they arrived, Zero was throwing Sigma into the
rock wall head first. It didn’t daunt him, though,
and he threw a punch right back into Zero’s forehead.
Zero, recovering quickly from the attack, prepared to
throw another punch at Sigma, but two large reploids
grabbed him and held him fast. They did the same with
Sigma. Dr. Cain stepped up with a frown on his face.
“Zero, Sigma, what is the meaning of this!” Dr. Cain
demanded.
Sigma spoke up. He had dents and scratches in his
armor, including a large dent in the side of his head.
“I was giving a lesson on how to fight a Maverick
when Zero attacked me!!”
Zero tried to jerk his arms free. “That’s not true!!
He was going too far!!”
His armor was also scratched and dented, and he had
an angry scowl on his face. He breathed heavily as he
turned to Dr. Cain. “Just look at X if you don’t
believe me!”
Dr. Cain sighed. “Sigma, I wish to have a talk with
you in my office. Both of you, no more fighting!
I’ll be forced to remove you from the Maverick Hunters
if you do!” Dr. Cain turned to the rest of the
trainees. “This training session is over. You are
dismissed,” he said.
He looked at X, who was coughing and trying to stand
up. All at once he knew why Zero attacked Sigma, yet
he had no idea why Sigma had attacked X.
“Guards, you may release them, but only if they stay
at least 50 feet from each other at all times. Is
that clear?”
Sigma grumbled his reply. Zero, keeping his eyes on
Sigma, growled angrily, “No problem, Dr. Cain,”
As soon as they were released, Zero walked over to X.
“X, are you ok?” Zero said, looking him over.
X shook his head and gave a weak laugh. “Yeah, no
problem, Zero! I’m just fine…OW!” X winced and held
his stomach.
“Sigma hit you pretty hard,” Zero said, “you better go
in for repairs,”
“Hey, you’re not spotless, Zero,” X said
good-humouredly.
Zero nodded. “Well, at least you’re cheerful. Come
on, we’ll both go,” he said.
Dr. Cain watched the two reploids in admiration.
They watched out for one another, but it was different
than regular partners would act. Even if it could
cause trouble sometimes, he could sense there was a
strong bond forming between them. Sigma, too, could
sense it. He growled as he walked away from the
scene. Soon he would be free of the Maverick Hunters,
Dr. Cain, and Mega Man X and Zero.
* * * * *
A blue light pierced the silent darkness of the
night. A lone figure smirked as he looked upon the
sleeping reploid inside the small room. Knowing the
reploid would not follow him, he quickly slinked out
the door, giving a subtle laugh as he walked away.
Moments later, the blue reploid’s eyes slowly opened.
Mega Man X opened the capsule and sat up, sleepily
rubbing his eyes.
What was that? I thought I heard something…
X stood up and gazed about the room. Nothing seemed
out of place, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to go
back to sleep, so he decided to walk around.
Eventually, he ended up in the small, messy lounge
outside the 13th Unit’s quarters. He collapsed into a
nearby chair and listened to the silence. It was
almost…eerie… Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming
down the long hallway. He slowly stood, wondering who
it could be. He was almost to the door of the lounge
when a familiar face appeared around the corner. X
sighed; it was only Zero.
“Hi, X. Couldn’t you sleep?” Zero asked.
“I thought I heard something, that’s all…” X replied.
“…I don‘t think I heard anything,” Zero said, “but
then again, I’ve been up forever, and I can’t be for
sure,”
“You couldn’t sleep? Why, Zero? What’s wrong?” X
asked.
Zero was reluctant to tell X of all the things that
had happened that night, but he knew he really didn’t
have anything to worry about.
“X, have you ever felt…strong energy, I guess, when
you met a Maverick?”
“I can’t say that I have…” X said.
“Well,” Zero hesitated, “I’ve sensed something strong
lately…something almost evil…I don’t know what it is,
but I’ve got a bad feeling about Sigma…”
“Aw, Zero, you’re just mad at him. It’s okay, I’m not
mad,” X said, trying to break the gloomy mood.
“Well, I guess you’re right,” Zero admitted, “I am
still a little mad, but…no, never mind. I’m going to
try to go back to sleep. See you, X,”
“See you, Zero,” X said with a sigh. Zero was still
mad at Sigma. But then again, it did sound like he
knew what he was talking about; the night just didn’t
feel right. X shrugged it off and slowly walked back
to his room.
Zero entered his room as quietly as possible so as not
to wake anyone else. He stepped up to his capsule and
stopped. He reached inside and grasped the handle of
a strange-looking weapon. It was a scythe--a scythe
with a long red handle and a glowing green blade. He
recognized it immediately. For a moment, he stared at
it in disbelief.
I can’t believe it!! So I was right… the Maverick is
Sigma!! I’ve got to tell Dr. Cain!!
Chapter 4
Zero VS. Sigma
(Battle at the Airport)
“Dr. Cain, where are the others?” Mega Man X asked
while dropping a large metal crate onto a larger pile.
It was Dr. Cain’s research files, which were to be
analyzed for any mentioning of Zero.
“Boomer Kuwanger and Flame Stag aren’t here. They
were supposed to practice on the obstacle course this
morning,” X explained.
Dr. Cain sifted through Light’s notes quickly.
“Hmm…I don’t know, X. Sigma hasn’t reported either,”
Dr. Cain said half-way listening to X, focusing more
on the notes. X thought to himself for a moment, then
came upon another puzzle.
“Dr. Cain,” X started, but a sudden noise interrupted
him.
“What?! Sigma?!” Dr. Cain gasped. The screen of his
computer had suddenly gone black and Sigma’s grinning
face had appeared.
“Dr. Cain, I regret to inform you that I have quit the
Maverick Hunters,” Sigma sneered. “From now on, I’ll
be at the head of the Maverick rebellion against the
humans. My first target will be the air base, but by
the time you see this I’ll have already taken the air
base, home of the 6th Unit Air Cavalry. I know your
little Maverick Hunters will want to stop me. Go
ahead and let them waste their meaningless lives
trying! My followers will not let them get even close
to me. I’ll have Zero say hello to you! A ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha!! A ha ha ha…”
A pale face gazed at the now-blank screen. The
drone of wild laughter had subsided, finally, but
Sigma’s mark had been made. All Dr. Cain could think
of was why. Why would Sigma do such a thing? His
thoughts went to Storm Eagle, his best commander of
the air force unit. Had he gone with Sigma already?
Was that what had happened to all the other reploids
that had come up missing? Dr. Cain lowered his head
in grief. His own creation had turned against the
very human race. What could he do?
“Dr. Cain… The other reploids went with him, didn’t
they?” X asked. A sad nod from Dr. Cain confirmed
his suspicions. Then, resuming his previous thoughts,
X asked again, “Dr. Cain, did you hear him? He said
Zero’s name…”
Dr. Cain’s eyes grew wide. “X, if he went with
Sigma….”
X knew what he was going to say. “No, Dr. Cain, he
wouldn’t do that! He hates Sigma! He might be
somewhere here in the base; I’m going to go look for
him,”
“But X, Sigma said…. Oh, never mind….” Dr. Cain said
as X ran off.
Dr. Cain dragged his feet as he made his way over to
the intercom. He turned it on and accessed the
computer containing the names and identification
numbers of each reploid in the H.Q. He then began
requesting reports from each member.
X searched all over the Maverick Hunter Headquarters,
but no Zero. Feeling defeated, X slowly walked into
Dr. Cain’s office. Dr. Cain looked up from his duties
and noticed X’s worried expression. Dr. Cain looked
at his list, then said, “X, I still have one left,”
X’s eyes lifted as Dr. Cain called out Zero’s name.
They waited for what seemed like forever, yet no
response came.
“I’m sorry, X… I don’t know where he could be. I’ll
have some search parties out looking for the missing
reploids, including Zero. For now, you shouldn’t
worry about him,”
X looked at him as if he were crazy. “Dr. Cain, I
have to look for him! With Sigma on the loose,
there’s no telling what could happen!”
Just like that, X was out the door. Dr. Cain called
out for him to wait, but he was already gone. He
still didn’t know what had caused the reploids to go
Maverick, and if it was some sort of virus, could X
get it? Light had said in his last statement that if
X turned against the humans, the results would be
disastrous. Now X and Zero were at risk; a risk that
could not afford to be taken.
At the same time….
Zero climbed up the thick, concrete wall. Looking
straight ahead of him, he saw two combatants engaged
in a fierce battle. One of them was undoubtedly
Sigma, while the other was in the form of an eagle.
Sigma was easily overpowering the flying reploid.
That must be Storm Eagle of the 6th Unit…
Zero dropped below the ledge to avoid a large tornado
blast. He secretly hoped Sigma did not see him yet.
Although he did feel a need to help Storm Eagle, he
didn’t want to be hit by a stray blast beforehand.
After a moment of listening and watching very closely,
Zero sprung up like a launched trap, ready with a
powerful blast from his Z-Buster. Sigma was caught
off guard, causing him to scream in anguish as it tore
through his right shoulder. Storm Eagle, taken aback
by the new companion, turned to Sigma and fired a
strong tornado blast. Sigma slammed his fists into
Storm Eagle so swiftly that it knocked him completely
off the platform, landing on the concrete base of the
storage yard 200 feet below. Zero cringed; Storm
Eagle couldn’t have survived that fall, and he was the
Maverick Hunters’ commander of the 6th Unit Air
Cavalry, or so Zero had been told. He didn’t have
time to ponder a loss, though, because Sigma was
already taking long, slow strides toward him.
“Zero….So you showed. I didn’t think you had it in
you to make it all the way up here, what with my
followers scattered around the entire area. Tell me,
why did you come all the way up here? Have you
reconsidered?” Sigma leered.
Zero’s eyes turned sharp and piercing. “Join you?
Never! I came to stop you!” he said heatedly. He
took a few steps closer to Sigma; he was now about 10
feet away from the tall reploid clad in black and
green armor. Sigma laughed at the gesture.
“Hah! You actually think you can fight me, and win?!
You may have been lucky one time, but you’ll never
defeat me!! Get ready, Zero!!” Sigma roared.
Sigma charged at Zero with flying fists, but he
quickly dashed to the side. His eyes followed Sigma
as he unsheathed his Z-saber and began making a
pattern of slash marks. When finished, Zero shot
large arcs of light from the sword at Sigma. Amused
with Zero’s new technique, Sigma decided to wait until
the last moment to dodge them and pretend that it was
difficult. This, however, backfired due to the fact
that the arcs were much faster and much more powerful
than he had thought. Several of them crashed into
Sigma’s armor, sending him to the ground with a thud.
“Not bad, Zero,” Sigma said as he stood and brushed
himself off, “but you will have to do better than just
knocking me down. Prepare to die!!”
Sigma then leaped into the air and raised his arms in
front of him. A large ball of electricity grew around
him and he launched himself at Zero, who double-jumped
right over his head. Sigma plowed through a portion
of the top of the building, sending chips of concrete
flying from the impact. Zero, landing easily on his
feet, turned to Sigma.
“You’ll lose this time, Sigma! You don’t think I’ve
really forgotten how close I had come to destroying
you, do you? I won’t let you take all those reploids
and use them for your twisted plot anymore!!” Zero
yelled.
He kept his eye on Sigma as he started charging a
weapon. Sigma, of course, would never admit that he
was intimidated, but Zero was becoming quite the force
to be reckoned with. He definitely did not have the
innocence that X did, nor was he the naïve type, whose
dreams and expectations got in the way of their
thinking. No, Zero would be a warrior if left to
survive. Sigma, however, could not let that happen.
He began to conjure up a plan to eliminate the threat.
Sigma began edging closer to Zero, trying to close up
the large gap between them. If he could only create a
blow powerful enough to throw him backwards… Zero,
however, was reading Sigma like a book. Instead of
edging towards Sigma, he leaped directly to the edge
and waited. Sigma, all in one quick motion, dashed
into Zero, knocking both of them off the edge of the
platform. The two fought and struggled in mid-air,
throwing punches and weapon shots, until they crashed
onto the wings of a T-86902 stealth fighter plane.
Zero took the opportunity to throw Sigma like a tin
can across the wingspan of the plane. With a fierce
cry, Zero plunged his saber directly into Sigma’s
stomach. Sigma, now spurting bright orange sparks,
ripped the saber out of him (and Zero’s hands) and
heaved it over the side of the plane. It wouldn’t
have been a problem, except the plane’s engines
started turning. Soon, the earth below them was
thousands of feet away. Zero gazed down. He heard
Sigma’s low laughter.
“It’s a long way down, isn’t it, Zero? Are you sure
you won’t join me? If you don’t, I’ll be forced to
kill you….” Sigma said devilishly. He then bellowed
more insane laughter, which Zero was getting quite
tired of.
“Sigma….as long as I’m around, you won’t be able to
destroy the Maverick Hunters, or the humans!! You may
as well give up now, because I’m not letting you go
until you’re dead!!” Zero shouted. He unleashed a
huge plasma blast at Sigma, who dodged immediately.
“Bold words for a former Maverick!! Why, you yourself
are a virus; a real Maverick! You’re a plague, and
everything you encounter will be infected!!” Sigma
taunted.
“That’s not true! You’re the plague, and I’m here to
stop you!!” Zero exclaimed, aiming his buster at
Sigma.
“You wouldn’t dare! I know vital information about
you, Zero--your creator put everything he had into
making you. Do you even know his name?” Sigma
sneered.
Zero looked up. “What…? That’s not possible….”
Sigma laughed again. “Heh heh…his name is Dr.
Albert--”
“That’s enough!! I don’t believe you!!” Zero shouted,
charging at Sigma. He slammed his fists into Sigma’s
face, causing blood to ooze from his nose. He quickly
jolted his legs out from under him and spun around him
in a swift tornado kick. Sigma could do nothing to
stop Zero. He continued to search for an opening, and
finally found one. When the plane hit some
turbulence, Zero lost balance and cancelled his next
attack. This gave Sigma time to leap up, grab Zero by
the shoulders, and hurl him against the rear wing of
the plane. Zero flinched when he hit, but he didn’t
have time to get up before Sigma grabbed and lifted
him by his neck, pinning him against the wing. He
started laughing maniacally again, and he had a saber
in his hand--a bright green one, and not as jagged as
Zero’s. Zero struggled to get free, and finally made
it out of Sigma’s grasp just as he slashed the saber
through the rear wing. The very tip of the saber
caught Zero’s helmet, leaving a long mark on it. Zero
wrestled the saber away from Sigma as best he could.
The plane was starting to dip and falter, and Zero
knew he didn’t have long. He slashed wildly at Sigma,
catching him several times before hitting a fuel tank
on the plane. A flame erupted from the fuel tank.
Zero gaped at it, and Sigma began cursing. With a
loud bang, the plane burst into a blinding explosion
of fire, ramming an unbelievable force into both Zero
and Sigma. All Zero saw was the light racing for him,
then enveloping him in a hot inferno, followed by a
huge shockwave. Everything after that was empty,
white nothingness. He heard nothing, saw nothing, and
felt nothing; he never even felt the force of the
impact.
Chapter 5
A New Leader
X swiftly cut the power to the hover bike. Grabbing
one handle, he leaped to the side and let it slowly
glide to a stop on its own as he made his way to the
edge of a small hill. Scanning the area, he trained
his eyes to focus on anything red. His search so far
had been unsuccessful and discouraging, but he refused
to give up. Deciding his chances of finding Zero in a
field were slim to none, he hopped back on the hover
bike and started down the old dirt path. He was just
about to give up on the area when a bright flash of
red caught his eye. He turned the bike sharply,
almost throwing it into the rock wall beside him.
Could that be Zero?
X hastily hopped off the bike and bounded down a
mossy, wet slope. Much to his surprise, the red robot
he had been looking for was there, though unmoving.
Filled with concern, X picked up his pace until he was
just a few feet away from Zero. X’s first thought was
that Zero might be hurt, but as he soon noticed, there
wasn’t a scratch on him--not a single mark had been
made on his red armor.
Well, at least he didn’t get into a big fight or
anything…
X thought a moment, then spoke carefully, as if Zero
could spring to life any second and scare him.
“Zero? Can you hear me? It’s me, X,” he said.
No response. X tried again.
“Zero--”
“….X?”
A simple reply came from Zero. He then sat up, opened
his eyes, and looked around sleepily; it was as if
nothing had even happened at all. Zero stood up and
turned to X.
“X, I have something important to tell you--it’s about
Sigma,” he started.
“We already know, Zero. Dr. Cain found a message
yesterday on his computer. What happened to you? Why
did you just disappear like that? I thought you’d
gone Maverick!” X said.
“Sorry, X. I went to challenge Sigma one-on-one,”
Zero started, “But I have valuable information now! I
had a dream…. In this dream, I saw Sigma and Storm
Eagle, Boomer Kukwanger, uh, that chameleon guy…and
some others with him,”
“So that’s where all the reploids have gone! There
were reploids missing from the 14th and 7th Units, as
well as others. Zero, what are we going to do about
them?”
X gazed worriedly up at the sky. So many reploids had
left! X wondered if they, too, had followed Sigma.
Zero called X’s attention away from his thoughts
quickly.
“X, we need to hurry. Sigma could decide to organize
and attack any minute!”
“Right,” X agreed, then jumped on the hover bike.
“Come on, Zero! Let’s go!”
* * * * *
“X! You’re back, and Zero’s with you!” Dr. Cain
exclaimed. X walked up to Dr. Cain slowly, his face
unsmiling, though not necessarily grave.
“Dr. Cain, Sigma has started a rebellion, but he’s not
alone,” X said. Dr. Cain developed a baffled
expression.
Zero stepped forward. “It’s true,” he said, with a
hint of anger, “He recruited all of our missing
reploids for his own robot army. He has already taken
over the airport, and I’m not sure where he’ll start
next,”
Dr. Cain rubbed his chin. “Then we have no power to
stop him,”
“Dr. Cain! You can’t be serious!” X exclaimed. “We
have to fight him!”
Dr. Cain shook his head. “I’m sorry, X. We lost
almost all of our commanders, and the
second-in-commands don’t have the experience to fight
against such a powerful enemy. We have only a few
armored carriers that would be of any use, and our
weapons…they’re useless,”
“But, Dr. Cain, you can’t just give up,” X said.
Zero, no longer deep in thought, suddenly jumped into
the conversation with vivacity.
“Dr. Cain, I’ll fight!” Zero volunteered. “I’ve
fought him before--he’s definitely a formidable
opponent--but with the forces we have left, surely we
can bring him down!”
“Zero… I know you want to help, but that little
squabble in the practice yard proves nothing. He is
strong,” Dr. Cain said, doubted.
“No, I fought him at the airport! I almost had him…”
Zero clenched his fists tightly. “I want to find him
and bring this uprising to an end before it gets
worse!”
All at once, three reploids clad in lightweight green
armor burst into the room. “Dr. Cain, the forest has
been overrun by hostile reploids!” yelled one
reploid.
“Our own officer, Sting Chameleon, appeared and
attacked the entire ranger unit! Soon after that, all
of these mechanoids appeared and drove us out!” the
second reploid yelled.
“Only a few squads remain, Dr. Cain. Where is Sigma?!
He’ll smash them all!” shouted the third. The three
conferred amongst each other about how bad Sting was
going to get hurt.
X, Zero, and Dr. Cain exchanged worried glances. Dr.
Cain cleared his throat.
“He has started a rebellion,”
At his words, a hush fell over the room. Wide eyes
stared at him, and not one of them spoke. Zero
eventually proposed his idea.
“I plan to fight Sigma. If what you say is true, then
he had already occupied the mines and the airport,”
“Add the sea base to that,” said a light blue reploid.
He had retracted fins on his arms, legs, back, and
head. He stood amongst a group of four reploids just
like him, all bearing scratches and other battle
scars.
“We have heard about Sigma. Since the ranger units
are so far out of the way, they are usually the last
to know. Everybody has gathered outside in the
courtyard. Zero, it’s a little crazy, but we’ll be
behind you,”
Zero looked to Dr. Cain. “Well? I’ll lead them, and
all of us will track down Sigma,”
Dr. Cain hesitated. X also turned to Dr. Cain.
“I want to help. Zero, I’m coming with you!” X said
assertively. Zero nodded his agreement and silently
questioned Dr. Cain again. Both pairs of eyes were
now serious and determined, Dr. Cain noticed, so he
knew there was no way to stop them. Besides, with the
power they were drawing, they might just have a
chance.
“All right, I’ll let you go. But….” he hesitated
once more. He sighed deeply. He greatly hoped they
return safely. “Be careful,” he said.
“All right, let’s go!” Zero shouted. The reploid
troops scurried out of the room and followed Zero. X
stayed behind to talk to Dr. Cain.
“Do we really have a chance?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ll bet what I have left on you
all. What other hope do I have?” Dr. Cain said
supportively. X gave a slight smile and hurried after
Zero. Dr. Cain sighed inwardly, sat down, and logged
on his computer.
* * * * *
Several weeks have passed. Along with X and the rest
of the troops, I have gained ground against Sigma.
Our adversaries are tough, but I know that we can do
it. I’m confident we will put an end to Sigma’s
rebellion. As for me, I am the new leader of the
Maverick Hunters. I still don’t know what’s in store
for me; just as my past is a mystery, so is my future.
Tomorrow we will storm the city that Sigma took as
his stronghold. It will take every ounce of power we
have to make it all the way to his fortress and return
safely. I may be defeated during battle, or I may be
the victor.
Maybe I’ll leave it to fate….
THE END
And
THE BEGINNING OF MMX 1
Author’s note: So, how did you like it? Yeah, yeah,
it wasn’t the best piece, but I enjoyed writing it.
It took me a month. Should I keep writing? Please
tell me what you thought!